Will there be bibles in Heaven?
or nations?
or wallets?
the first year in Heaven
will be spent
laughing
at our previous imaginings
of the afterlife
and the Jerry Falwells
the James Dobsons and
the Pat Robertsons
of this world
will be there too
looking for people
to minister to
but they won’t enjoy it
so much
because it really
won’t be like they thought
it would
or should be
and some of the inhabitants of Heaven
will be expected
--like the Christians who
proclaimed Jesus as Lord
and the Orthodox who kept
every one of the 613 mitzot--
but those in the afterlife
may be surprised by the absence
of those who said
they would commit their lives to God
but really never did
and acted holy
for every reason
except the right one
their souls may be somewhere else
and perhaps that is where I’ll be
but as I see it
Heaven will have a bible
and a copy of the Koran
and of the Bhagavad Gita
and the Upanishads
and of all the holy books
because Heaven welcomes all books
and all those who find them holy.